Wedding: Budgeting

Wedding: Budgeting March 20, 2013

As previously stated, I’m pretty cheap. People being nice might call it frugal. I’m very careful with money, I guess because it represents safety and stability to me. So even though my parents are quite traditional and believe in a bride’s family paying for a wedding, I still have a lot of trouble parting with any money. That’s my dad’s retirement money!

We have found a venue that is an all in one catering, decorating, organizing, etc. It is less stressful to have a venue that takes care of all those things, but it’s also more money than picking out each element separately.

We’re saving money on everything else and I think we’re doing a pretty awesome job at it!

Some ideas:

  • We’re doing the wedding on a Sunday afternoon rather than the more popular Saturday evening
  • I got my dress online from India. You know what? Hindu brides are lucky. My gorgeous lengha was $540. With shipping. With stitching. Everything. Wedding dresses on Say Yes To The Dress start at $1,500 and I’ve seen them go up to $11,000 and even $25,000. Yikes. Plus, I can totally wear my lengha to other events. It’s not a one time use like a white wedding gown.
  • Utilizing the talents of friends

(There was supposed to be a video today, but I just moved to a new apartment and my computer is not entirely set up!)

It’s surprising how quickly expenses start to add up. Once you’ve made a few purchases in the thousands of dollar range, buying something for $200 feels downright cheap! The brain’s perspective changes very rapidly to that way of seeing things.

Really the best thing for the budget is the utilizing your friend’s talents. We have a friend officiating, a friend doing photography (she is a professional), a friend making the cake, a friend doing my mendhi, a friend doing my makeup, etc. Then look at people your friends know. We got a bagpiper who is a friend of Brad’s father, for example.

Tonight is the tasting at the caterers!


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